D's muscles tensed and released as he delivered what would be the last, crashing slam of the entity against the mangled wall of servers. He ripped his arms back down to his side as the tendrils loosened their grip. He backed away from the entity, catching breath, and spectating as VV exacted the conclusive strike against it; the entity melted away and dissolved.
For the time being, the fighting was over. D motioned and sounded in relief. His mouth hung open for a moment as VV approached him with comment and inquiry.
The first syllable had barely escaped him when the sound of heavy, driving footsteps carried from the far corners of the archives. In an instant, he and VV were surrounded by a squadron of heavily armed, armor-clad soldiers; D noticed they all bore the isignia of a skull and crossbone, though he had no clue what to make of it. With guns trained on him from all sides, and being unsure if he could take a hit as well as he could give one, D obliged to the order given, and dropped to the ground. In sequence, he allowed himself to be forced back to his feet, and fell in next to VV as the soldiers forced them out of the archive room.
"Call me 'D,'" he whispered to VV, unheard by the soldiers. The entourage was joined by another seeing a third captive down the hall... D assumed her to be either A or Pia, whom the woman walking next to him had spoken of.
They hadn't gotten far down the corridor when all Hell broke loose again.
This time, it was the soldiers being assailed by an unseen force. Several of the armed guards clasped their hands to their head, weapons clattering about on the ground as they were dropped. D felt a rough hand push him down, and let himself drop to the floor as a rain of gunfire and a chorus of pained groans split the silence. More soliders came under the affliction, and the sound of gunfire faded into the anguished cries of men being attacked by something they couldn't fight against.
"Run!"
The voice shouted above the noise of the agonized soliders. D spun in the direction of the voice. He pushed off from the ground, scooping up a dropped gun as he did, and began to run in the direction of the voice; he bodied his way through a solider who, despite the pain he way in, attempted to to stop the captives from escaping.
He would spin around, letting Pia and VV pass him by, and open fire in a quick spray with the stolen weapon to deter a pursuit before folliwing the others.
For the time being, the fighting was over. D motioned and sounded in relief. His mouth hung open for a moment as VV approached him with comment and inquiry.
The first syllable had barely escaped him when the sound of heavy, driving footsteps carried from the far corners of the archives. In an instant, he and VV were surrounded by a squadron of heavily armed, armor-clad soldiers; D noticed they all bore the isignia of a skull and crossbone, though he had no clue what to make of it. With guns trained on him from all sides, and being unsure if he could take a hit as well as he could give one, D obliged to the order given, and dropped to the ground. In sequence, he allowed himself to be forced back to his feet, and fell in next to VV as the soldiers forced them out of the archive room.
"Call me 'D,'" he whispered to VV, unheard by the soldiers. The entourage was joined by another seeing a third captive down the hall... D assumed her to be either A or Pia, whom the woman walking next to him had spoken of.
They hadn't gotten far down the corridor when all Hell broke loose again.
This time, it was the soldiers being assailed by an unseen force. Several of the armed guards clasped their hands to their head, weapons clattering about on the ground as they were dropped. D felt a rough hand push him down, and let himself drop to the floor as a rain of gunfire and a chorus of pained groans split the silence. More soliders came under the affliction, and the sound of gunfire faded into the anguished cries of men being attacked by something they couldn't fight against.
"Run!"
The voice shouted above the noise of the agonized soliders. D spun in the direction of the voice. He pushed off from the ground, scooping up a dropped gun as he did, and began to run in the direction of the voice; he bodied his way through a solider who, despite the pain he way in, attempted to to stop the captives from escaping.
He would spin around, letting Pia and VV pass him by, and open fire in a quick spray with the stolen weapon to deter a pursuit before folliwing the others.